These two lifestyles are on opposite ends of the spectrum, but which lifestyle is healthier? I figured I'd post this question on a vegan bodybuilding forum since the people on this forum have lifestyles that are a combination of the two. It's really difficult to find people who will give you an unbiased opinion on this. If you go on a vegan site they say their lifestyle is the healthiest and if you go on a bodybuilding site you'll find people who constantly bash vegans.

Well diet completely aside, I would say that a distance runner is healthier than a BB'er. But it's very individualistic, I think both can be extreme sports and if that's the case then both could potentially be as bad as each other.

Looking at the diet component, whether a runner or BB'er I would have to say the vegan person would be healthiest ~ this has been proven in terms of things like longevity, lipid panels, CV biomarkers etc etc. A vegan lifestyle (when the foods consumed are optimal) simply enhances the quality of that persons life.

Well I basically went from being a meat eating bodybuilder (I wasn't actually a bodybuilder but I was on a bodybuilding diet) and now I'm a vegetarian (almost a vegan) runner. From my personal experiences running and avoiding animal products is much healthier. I almost destroyed my bowel from following that diet, I was constantly bloated, I had diarrhea every day (probably from lactose intolerance), I had low testosterone, I had no energy, and I simply felt like shit. I recently got into a heated debate from a nutritionist/bodybuilder Alan Aragon about veganism and bodybuilding which is what motivated me to start this thread. To sum up the debate, I asked him about if it's healthy to use wheat protein as my primary source of protein on a vegan diet and he responded to me by asking me why I want to become vegan. I told him that I want to become vegan because of my views on animal rights and he responded by telling me that becoming a vegan will be detrimental to my health and that I'm sacrificing my health for animals. I responded to him by telling him that bodybuilding isn't necessarily healthy either and there are studies that show that calorie restriction could lead to longevity which is basically the opposite of bodybuilding. He really didn't know how to respond to that and he basically told me that he's not interested in what I have to say because I'm not a professional in his field and he eventually decided to block me on facebook which was really mature of him (sarcasm).

I agree with MiniF! BB'er definitely aren't as healthy as most of them would like to believe. I don't do that much cardio unless I'm working up towards a motocross race because frankly, busting off short intense sets of weights is not that beneficial for endurance. I control my BF more with diet than cardio and someone that concentrates on endurance will kick my butt on anything that requires it. My motos last about 15-20 minutes and I am drained after that LOL

jr17 wrote:Well I basically went from being a meat eating bodybuilder (I wasn't actually a bodybuilder but I was on a bodybuilding diet) and now I'm a vegetarian (almost a vegan) runner. From my personal experiences running and avoiding animal products is much healthier. I almost destroyed my bowel from following that diet, I was constantly bloated, I had diarrhea every day (probably from lactose intolerance), I had low testosterone, I had no energy, and I simply felt like shit. I recently got into a heated debate from a nutritionist/bodybuilder Alan Aragon about veganism and bodybuilding which is what motivated me to start this thread. To sum up the debate, I asked him about if it's healthy to use wheat protein as my primary source of protein on a vegan diet and he responded to me by asking me why I want to become vegan. I told him that I want to become vegan because of my views on animal rights and he responded by telling me that becoming a vegan will be detrimental to my health and that I'm sacrificing my health for animals. I responded to him by telling him that bodybuilding isn't necessarily healthy either and there are studies that show that calorie restriction could lead to longevity which is basically the opposite of bodybuilding. He really didn't know how to respond to that and he basically told me that he's not interested in what I have to say because I'm not a professional in his field and he eventually decided to block me on facebook which was really mature of him (sarcasm).

Well....you can't fix ------! It's a shame there are so many close-minded people and it will be to their detriment!

Alan sounds like a plank of wood in that post mate. Yes, calorie restriction is a key to longevity (I've been extensively studying longevity and the factors that go with it for many years now), but vegans and vegetarians have been shown to have longer lives than our carnivorous counterparts, largely due to better CV health as well as largely reduced/non-existent conditions that can cause heart problems, such as high cholesterol, plaque build up in arteries etc.I don't know a lot about wheat protein, but I use a pea protein isolate and it's nutritional breakdown is actually better than most whey proteins. In my experience you're always banging your head against a wall when you try and talk to meat-eating nutritionists or PT's. They've never been shown any other way and are closed minded to say the least.

My doctor admitted to me that my diet was healthier than his. He did this readily with no bias. He actually understands the problems associated with meat because he has to deal with treating them on a day to day basis. His opinion is based on science and not an "I do it so it's the best" mentality.

There is a goldilocks zone for longevity. I think its around 10-15 miles per week. C.O. Posted an article about over exercising. viewtopic.php?f=47&t=28399 That is the reason why you see some long distance runners having heart attacks. Not because of their diet like most people assume. Running seems to be the way to longevity, however, only to a certain extent.

10 miles per week really isn't that much. I think you could take an in between approach and do both running and bodybuilding at the same time.

Emrys wrote:My doctor admitted to me that my diet was healthier than his. He did this readily with no bias. He actually understands the problems associated with meat because he has to deal with treating them on a day to day basis. His opinion is based on science and not an "I do it so it's the best" mentality.

There is a goldilocks zone for longevity. I think its around 10-15 miles per week. C.O. Posted an article about over exercising. viewtopic.php?f=47&t=28399 That is the reason why you see some long distance runners having heart attacks. Not because of their diet like most people assume. Running seems to be the way to longevity, however, only to a certain extent.

10 miles per week really isn't that much. I think you could take an in between approach and do both running and bodybuilding at the same time.

That's good he is more open-minded! I have a theory about number of steps in one's life. I think small dogs live longer (on average) than big dogs because they take way more steps in their lifetime to travel the same distance. Is my theory too far out there? Lol

Emrys wrote:My doctor admitted to me that my diet was healthier than his. He did this readily with no bias. He actually understands the problems associated with meat because he has to deal with treating them on a day to day basis. His opinion is based on science and not an "I do it so it's the best" mentality.

There is a goldilocks zone for longevity. I think its around 10-15 miles per week. C.O. Posted an article about over exercising. viewtopic.php?f=47&t=28399 That is the reason why you see some long distance runners having heart attacks. Not because of their diet like most people assume. Running seems to be the way to longevity, however, only to a certain extent.

10 miles per week really isn't that much. I think you could take an in between approach and do both running and bodybuilding at the same time.

I don't even run that now because I just started to get back into running and I'm not in great cardiovascular shape yet. I'm not planning on being a marathon runner. I actually plan on running 5ks and maybe a 10k when I get more experienced. As for doing both bodybuilding and running, that would be difficult for me because I have a physical job as well and I don't want to over train. I do dips and pull ups and dips at my house from time to time so I do incorporate some form of resistance training.

When you start to look into longevity, and even more so when you start looking into the lives of centenarians you will start to see a common factor in their lives: WALKING.

Seems to be about an 30-60mins a day for most. There has been the odd runner, I can't recall his name but there was a Japanese man that when he was in his 90's he ran a 14 or 15sec 100m race !! He's still alive and has outlived ALL of his doctors, and from memory stopped eating dinner in his 80's (his doctor told him that would kill him, but his doctor since died).

Mini Forklift Ⓥ wrote:When you start to look into longevity, and even more so when you start looking into the lives of centenarians you will start to see a common factor in their lives: WALKING.

Seems to be about an 30-60mins a day for most. There has been the odd runner, I can't recall his name but there was a Japanese man that when he was in his 90's he ran a 14 or 15sec 100m race !! He's still alive and has outlived ALL of his doctors, and from memory stopped eating dinner in his 80's (his doctor told him that would kill him, but his doctor since died).

Wow! That's...just wow! If you think of his name, let us know. I'd be interested in reading up on him more.